The Truth
by Havik Masquerade
Summary: Arnold and Helga work on a project for school for a week, they take turns working on the project at each other's houses until Arnold sees what Helga's home life is really like by accident which leads to unexpected events that both Arnold and Helga have to get through. Arnold x Helga also some lemon.
1. Chapter 1

There was yelling some things breaking again. The yelling had gone on for 15 minutes and switching from one room to another with silences in between. It was just another night for Helga who was in her room on her bed trying to do her best to ignore it. Her room was dark and the only light that was coming into her room was the moon light. It was 12:30 a.m. and Big Bob had gotten into another fight with a drunken Miriam. There fights had usually lasted for an hour but with Big Bob coming home late again and Miriam getting drunk, it was now so normal that Helga had found ways to cope with it but lately, all her coping mechanisms hadn't been working. The fights had been getting somewhat violent but not enough for the police to be called but the neighbors were always shown concern for the 15 year old Helga - only for Big Bob and Miriam to shrug it off as if it was nothing to worry about.

At 1 a.m. the fighting finally stopped and Helga was able to sleep peacefully until she had to go to school the next morning. When morning finally came, she got dressed and headed downstairs to find that she had once again, no lunch. Miriam was passed out on the couch and Big Bob was at work. Since it was no use waking up Miriam, Helga decided to find some food to have for lunch at school. All she could do was make a sandwich and get a juice to drink.

She waited for the bus until it had finally came. She got on and sat in the front seat listening to her Ipod while the bus was making few more stops - one of which was Arnold's stop. She was up against the window when she saw Arnold with Gerald getting onto the bus. She tried not to look stupid as Arnold passed her in the aisle but inside she couldn't help but smile when she saw him.

At school she met up with Phoebe who was at her locker getting her things together for class. Phoebe looked at Helga for a moment before she could tell that she had another somewhat sleepless night.

"Are you okay Helga?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Big Bob and Miriam just had another fight last night about him coming home late again while he pointed out that she was drunk." Helga replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that Helga. Have you tried talking to them about their constant fighting?" She asked.

"There's no point to it Phoebe, all they do is blow me off while Bob tells me to get out of the way of the t.v." Helga said.

Phoebe was about to respond before seeing that Helga was silent. She knew all about Helga's home life and how Miriam and Big Bob were. Phoebe also knew how bad their fights could get. Helga would sneak out of the house some nights to get some peace or to spend the night at Phoebe's house.

They got into class and they sat next to each other. Arnold and Gerald were just walking in just few minutes after them; laughing and smiling. Arnold sat 2 seats in front of Helga while Gerald sat next to him in the second seat to the right. The bell rang and soon everybody was in class. Their teacher Ms. Davis, had assign them to do a project they had studied last week in a pair. Everyone was paired up and the last 2 were Arnold and Helga. The class had worked on the project and Ms. Davis informed them that they could work on it out of class provided that each person would do their share.

"Hey how about we work on the project at your house today then tomorrow we can go to mine? We can switch days." Arnold offer to Helga.

"That's not a good idea Football Head, my house is usually noisy and we wouldn't get work done." Helga said to him.

"Oh, well we can do it at your house tomorrow, we can go to mine and we'll have a huge space to do our project." Arnold said.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you there." Helga said to him with a light smile.

Inside Helga felt embarrassed about rejecting Arnold's offer. She would have been more embarrassed that Arnold would see how her home life is and how little her own parents cared about her. No one had ever came over to her house except for Phoebe and only she knew how her home life really was and in return, had always offered a space for Helga at her house if need be.

45 minutes had passed before the bell rang to go to the next class. Helga offered to put the project in her locker till the end of the day and Arnold had agreed. They talked for a bit before Arnold met up with Gerald who was just few feet down the hallway. Helga looked at Arnold until he vanished into the sea of people that was now starting to flood the hallways. Phoebe had called out to Helga few times before she had finally gotten her attention.

Phoebe and Helga walked with each other until they had to go to their separate ways to their classes. Phoebe continued down the hallway until Helga saw her disappear into her classroom. Helga walked straight into her own. She sighed before taking her seat and relaxed. She never knew why she was so anxious but she was and she did her best to control it. The bell rang and everyone took their seats while the teacher came into the classroom himself.

The day was finally over and Helga was waiting for Arnold to go to his house to work on the project. As she waited, she felt anxious but a little bit excited at the same time. It was the first time Helga would knowingly go inside Arnold's house without sleep walking or sneaking in. As she waited, she saw Arnold talking to Gerald, Sid, and Stinky - although she couldn't hear what, it must have been plans to hang out on the weekend or after school tomorrow. She continued to watch as Sid and Stinky saw Harold and met up with him then saw Gerald go his own way. Arnold was then making his way towards Helga who had the project in her hands waiting. Helga had told Phoebe about being at Arnold's house after school so she rode the bus with the other girls.

"Hey, sorry it took so long, I was just talking to the guys for a bit. Ready to go?" Arnold asked her.

"Yeah, I am." Helga replied with a faint smiled.

Both Arnold and Helga started to walk to Arnold's house with their project in tow. As they walked, Arnold noticed that Helga was quiet. He wanted to ask her why she was so quiet but thought she probably was thinking about the project or something else but he didn't know how to even ask her if anything was wrong.

"Hey Helga, are you okay? You've been quiet and I was just wondering if everything was okay." Arnold asked with concern in his tone.

"Yeah, I'm okay just thinking, that's all." Helga said to him knowing she was lying.

"Oh okay, well when we get to my house, you can call your parents and tell them you'll be at my house for few hours." Arnold told her.

"I doubt they'd care." Helga said silently.

"What?" Arnold asked.

"Oh nothing. I'll give them a call." Helga told him.

They continued to walk until they had reached Arnold's house, it was still the same but Helga could see there had been some repainting. They both walked up the steps as Arnold opened the door, the animals ran out all at once and soon, Helga was about to step inside Arnold's house.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the faint sound of the animals ran around the corner, Arnold and Helga walked into the house. To Helga, it was the same as when she had sneaked her way in to get her locket and journal back to keep Arnold from reading the last page of her journal - which she immediately ripped out and spit it at Arnold in a form of a spit ball and when to keep Arnold and his grandpa from reading the note inside her locket. They walked down the hallway and as they passed by the rooms, Helga heard the voices of Arnold's grandpa and grandma - otherwise known as Phil and Pookie. Just as they had walked by, Arnold's grandpa called out to him.

"Well if it isn't Shortman returning home from school." Phil said to them.

"Hey grandpa." Arnold replied.

"Whose your friend Shortman?" Phil asked.

"Grandpa, this is Helga. Remember?" Arnold asked laughing a bit.

"Arnold, I'm going to tell you something, I haven't remembered much since last week." Phil said smiling while throwing in few laughs.

"I can't remember anything since breakfast." Pookie said.

"Pookie you're always like that." Phil said to her.

"Well Helga and I are going to my room to work on our school project. Can she use the phone to call her parents?" Arnold asked.

"Of course she can Shortman." Phil said.

They left the room as Phil and Pookie began to have a light argument but only ended in some laughter. Helga picked up the phone as soon as she got to it and dialed her phone number. After the dial tone rang in her ear few times, Miriam's usual groggy drunken voice came over the other line.

"He-hello?"

"Yeah, hey Miriam, I just called to tell you that I'm at Arnold's house and I'll be home in few hours." Helga said to her somewhat impatiently.

"O-oh, that's nice Helga. Have fun with your little friend." Miriam replied.

"Yeah, thanks Miriam." Helga said.

Helga then sighed after she hung up the phone. She looked to her left to see that Arnold was staring at her confused. He didn't really know what to say to Helga but didn't want to bring anything up since there was a chance that others would here. After the phone call, they headed to where Arnold's room was. Arnold pulled the cord to the attic with Helga going up the stairs first then Arnold. He reached around Helga to open his bedroom door. Everything was the same except for few 'teenage' stuff here and there. Arnold sat the project on the floor while Helga and Arnold sat across from each other.

"Okay, let's start back up where we started." Arnold said to Helga.

"Whatever Football Head." Helga responded.

They worked quietly for the next half hour with them almost little less than half way to completing it. Perhaps this was why their teacher paired them up because whenever she did, they worked on it and didn't slack on anything. They would just work coherently until the project was complete and theirs usually did to stand out more with Helga's creative side and Arnold bring his ideas to life as well.

"Um Helga, can I ask you something?" Arnold asked; interrupting the silence in his room.

"Go ahead Football Head." Helga said.

"Back there on the phone, I've always wondered why you called your parents by their names and not mom and dad." Arnold asked her unsure if it was a touchy subject.

"There's nothing much to say really. I relate poorly to Miriam and as for Bob, well let's just say he prefers Olga." Helga replied to Arnold.

"What about Olga?" Arnold asked.

"Olga doesn't seem to understand my relationship with Bob or Miriam." Helga stated.

"I'm sorry." Arnold said to Helga.

"Not your fault Arnold. My so called parents are just negelectful." Helga said before getting up.

"I never realized how bad they were towards you." Arnold said.

"Well we all learn something new everyday." Helga said.

"Yeah, I guess." Arnold simply said.

"Do you mind if I?" Helga asked pulling out a cigarette from her pocket.

"Oh, um no, just hold on." Arnold told her.

Arnold had gotten onto his bed to open his sky view window before extending his hand to help Helga onto his bed. They both took a break and headed up the roof. While up there, Helga lit up her cigarette she had gotten from her backpack. Helga looked much more relaxed than from just few minutes ago. Arnold but couldn't help but feel bad for Helga but knew Helga was the type of person who didn't want sympathy.

He couldn't believe that Helga hid her relationship with her parents and the neglectfulness for this long. To Arnold though, Helga did seem beautiful and strong enough to work through it somehow. He noticed how different Helga had changed.

She didn't where her dress and white shirt anymore. Instead she wore baggy blue jeans, a pink crop top, black shoes, and a black jacket. Her hair was down instead of up which she also sported a pink and black beanie that contrasted her blonde hair. Her attitude remained the same as before but she didn't have many friends which is probably why Phoebe remained her best friend and was the closest to Helga. What Helga told Arnold seemed to be the foundation of a bond and trust.

They went back inside Arnold's room after a 20 minute break. Arnold could see Helga was more relaxed since they came back inside. He looked at the time to see that it was 4:40 p.m. Helga would have to go home in another hour. Instead of working on the project, they hung out in his room. Helga took off her jacket and beanie since there was no need to wear them anymore. They watched tv and some movies. For the first time, Helga felt happy. She had never been this happy beforeand didn't want her happiness to go away.

"Shortman! Time for dinner!" Phil yelled up to Arnold as he helped Pookie.

"Do you want to stay Helga?" Arnold asked.

"I'm not sure. I'll just go home and make myself something but thanks." Helga replied.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" He asked.

"I'm fine Arnold. I think I better go now." She said. She put her jacket and Beanie back on before leaving Arnold's room.

Arnold was behind her and decided that he would leave the project at his house for today. Helga said bye to Arnold and his 'extended family' before leaving the house. She walked back home hoping that Miriam made something this time instead of being passed out on the couch. She already knew that Bob would be in front of the tv watching sports or a game show.

When she got home, it was the same. Miriam was once again passed out and Big Bob was no where to be found. Helga went into the kitchen making herself a sandwhich and grabbed a bag of chips along with a drink and went up to her room. After 2 hours, Bob came home and immediately turned on the tv. Not long after did Miriam get up when Bob questioned her about dinner. Miriam then started to question him back; getting into another fight. Helga sighed as they shouted back and forth before stopping.

They started up again before going through each room of the house forgetting the Helga even came home. Helga went downstairs and they didn't even notice her. It wasn't until she heard a knock at the door that her heart stopped. She didn't want anyone to see how her home life was. When she opened the door, she saw the one person who she didn't want to see and that was Arnold.

"Hey, um sorry to stop by like this but you left your backpack in my room." Arnold said.

"T-thanks." Helga said.

Arnold looked past her and immediately knew that he shouldn't have came. There in the hallway was Big Bob and Miriam seemingly arguing about something before seeing that Arnold was at the door. They stopped and went into another room. Few minutes had passed and Arnold left once again apologizing to her. When Helga went up to her room, Big Bob stopped her.

"Trophy room now." He ordered.

Helga wenbt to the trophy room and there Miriam and Big Bob questioned her - mostly Big Bob. She listened to them but didn't care as they told her not to tell anyone anything. It was just like when she had to see Dr. Bliss. Miriam and Big Bob telling her to just 'leave it under the rug' type of lecture. After the 'lecture', Helga went up to her room not saying a word.


	3. Chapter 3

Arnold was walking back to his house when a large hummer drove passed him just a foot away. The headlights were nearly blinding his eyes even with his hand up protecting them. When he walked closer, he saw that Big Bob Pataki. He seemed to be waiting for him to approach his driver side window. When Arnold did walk up to the window, Big Bob rolled down the video then looked straight into Arnold's eyes.

"So you've been working with the girl on your school project?" Big Bob asked almost uncaring.

"That girl just happens to have a name you know." Arnold replied.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, listen kid, I don't know what she's told you and all but Helga really doesn't know what she's talking about. Truth is kid, she's a nut job." He said back.

"How can you call your own daughter a nut job?" Arnold asked him.

"She's just is. The girl is always saying something stupid when alone in her room and Miriam and I walked into her wearing some stupid getup while supposedly getting ready for bed." He said.

"But she's your daughter. Shouldn't you try and I don't know, bond with her?" Arnold asked him little bit annoyed.

"Listen kid, I've tried to bond with her and that failed miserably. Let's face it kid, she's not like Olga that's for sure. Olga is the perfect daughter but Helga is a different story." Big Bob said to him.

Arnold was completely shocked at Big Bob's words about Helga. He barely respected Helga enough to only use her actual name only 2 times. The rest it was just 'the girl'. Arnold could see exactly what Helga was talking about earlier up on the roof when they took that break. Arnold clearly saw that Big Bob didn't care about Helga only Olga. Arnold started to walk away from Big Bob when he called out to him from his hummer.

"Hey kid, just remember don't listen to what Helga has to say, remember she was the only person out of your little class back in the 4th grade to see Dr. Bliss." Big Bob shouted.

Arnold continued to walk away. He didn't care what Big Bob had to say, he knew that Helga was right about how Big Bob and Miriam were treating her. What made him angry was the fact that Big Bob had the nerve to call Helga a 'nut job' and implied Helga wasn't 'perfect enough' for him. He decided that he wasn't going to talk to Big Bob again and no matter what, he would stick up for Helga.

As soon as Arnold got home, he walked a fast pace up to his room when Arnold was stopped by Phil.

"Hey what's your hurry Shortman?" Phil asked.

"It's nothing grandpa, just got annoyed with someone." Arnold replied while he sighed.

"Who was it Shortman?" Phil asked; eating an oatmeal raisin cookie.

"It was Big Bob Pataki." Arnold said.

"Why Big Bob Pataki?" Phil asked Arnold.

"Well he was just talking about Helga and it got me mad. He called Helga a nut job and compared her to Helga's older sister Olga." Arnold said to Phil.

"Why would he do that?" He asked.

"I don't know but it was irritating to me. I never knew how Helga had it. I wish there was something I could do." Arnold replied in a sad tone.

"Well Shortman, times like these are hard." Phil replied.

Suddenly, they heard something from another room break, when they went to look, they saw Pookie on the floor with a flyswatter in her hand. She got up, and lunged at what seemed to be a mosquito.

They back away hearing Pookie laugh as she was jumping all over the place trying to kill the mosquito. Arnold went to his room then laid on his bed thinking about what Big Bob said to him about Helga. He then had an idea. He took out his phone and started to text Helga hoping she'd answer.

Meanwhile, Helga was in her room writing in her journal. It was one of the few things that allowed her to express how she felt without being judged by Big Bob or Miriam. As she was writing the 3rd paragraph, she heard her pink and white phone vibrate on her bed. She thought it was Phoebe wantig to ask her if she would come over and spend time with her. When she looked at her phone however, she saw that she had gotten a text from Arnold.

When Arnold and her got along more, they decided to give each other their numbers since Helga, by that time hadn't been much of a bully - except for when people tried to push her around and soon learned that Helga G. Pataki wasn't a pushover.

She opened the message and saw that Arnold had texted her 2 times.

 _Arnold: Hey Helga, I just wanted to see how you were._

 _Arnold: You don't have to talk to me if you don't want._

 _Helga: No, it's okay Football Head. What did you want to talk about?_

Arnold was on his computer when he saw that Helga had replied to him. He stopped what he was doing to answer her and to see if she would maybe want to stay over the next day or so.

 _Arnold: I just wanted to see how you were._

 _Helga: I'm alright. Big Bob and Miriam hasn't annoyed me in the past few hours and I actually got to eat something other than a sandwich._

 _Arnold: Oh um speaking of Big Bob, he did talk to me._

 _Helga: Oh? What he tell you Football Head?_

 _Arnold: He told me that you were a 'nut job' and compared you to Olga._

 _Helga: That's nothing new. They never really got to know me as their daughter so nothing I can really do._

 _Arnold: Why do you put up with how they treat you?_

 _Helga: Arnold, nothing they say or do is new to me. It's just how how I lived it out._

 _Arnold:Do you want to come over and spend the night at my house? I mean I don't know if you'd like my grandma's cooking but you'll be away from your parents._

 _Helga: I don't know what to say to that, let me think about it and I'll give you my answer in class while we work on the project and we'll talk more about it._

 _Arnold: Okay that sounds great._

 _Helga: I got to go Football Head, I got other homework to do._

 _Arnold: Okay, see tomorrow then._

 _Helga: See you tomorrow._

She couldn't believe that Arnold had invited her to go spend the night at his house. Ever since they first met Helga had always wanted Arnold to herself and get closer to him more than how they were before. She started to pack a bag becayse she knew that she would say yes. Helga also knew that Big Bob or Miriam wouldn't really care since she had snuck out before and they hadn't noticed the whole weekend that she wasn't at the house.

Arnold breathed a sigh of relief. It was the perfect chance for Helga to not worry about her parents and for her to actually be cared for and not neglected. He hoped that Helga wouldn't be too embarrassed or think that anyone was taking pity on her since Arnold knew that's not what Helga wanted. All Arnold wanted to make it known that there were people who did care about her despite that it was hardly known. He got undressed and went to bed, he wanted this day to be over and orget that Big Bob had painted Helga in a light that was uncalled for.

Helga had also went to bed after she packed up her stuff. She snuck down stairs while Big Bob and Miriam were actually sleeping n the same room and quietly but quickly made her lunch for tomorrow. She made herself asandwich, got a bag of chips, got few cookies, and a soda. She then put everything away and turned off the light as she headed back to her room. She heard what she thought was either Big Bobb or Miriam getting out of bed so she stopped. She froze for few minutes before quickly going to her room and shutting her door behind her.

Helga then got into bed after undressing into a loose fitting night shirt and just her panties. She closed her blue eyes wondering how a weekend at Arnold's would finally be like for her. She soon went off to sleep looking up at the cieling as the last thing she'd seen.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Helga got up early for school. She got dressed then grabbed her backpack and bag she was going to bring with her to Arnold's house. No one was up since Big Bob didn't go to work till 8:30 and Miriam will still be in bed until 10 a.m. It was 15 minutes till 8 and Helga had left the house. She made sure she had gotten her phone and charger as well as any other important things she might need. She walked to the bus stop and few minutes later, the bus arrived. Helga, once on the bus felt safe and more secure as opposed to when she was at home where not even her own parents noticed her much. The bus made the next few stops to one of which was Arnold's. He had seen Helga with her backpack and another bag but assumed she wanted to stay over at his house but wanted to make sure.

Arnold sat just few seats behind Helga. He was soloing it today as Gerald had gotten sick from Timberly. Arnold of course didn't mind as he thought it was the perfect time to get to know Helga more so than he did. When they finally gotten to school, Arnold was quick to go to his locker than go to class where he could talk to Helga. He got there first before Helga and anxiously waited for Helga.

He didn't know why he was so anxious. He thought that maybe it was the conversation he had with Big Bob that made him want to do this. He wanted to get Helga away from them so that for once, Helga could see that she didn't have to be neglected. Helga never chose for her family to neglect her but instead they chose to. Arnold didn't want to admit it but he got mad that Big Bob and Miriam would just choose to favor Olga and neglect Helga because she wasn't 'perfect' like Olga. He had to stop thinking about it to avoid getting irritated.

Arnold saw that people who were in his class were starting to come into the classroom - none of which was Helga until about 10 minutes later when she walked into the classroom. He saw Helga sit down but only taking small glimpses to look around with her blue eyes. It wasn't until everyone sat in their usual seats to work on the projects did Helga move. She moved sluggishly and truth be told she didn't feel like moving at all. Helga felt tired and somewhat nervous to be staying at Arnold's house for the first time. When Arnold and Helga were working on their project, not a single word was said between them even though that Arnold wanted to talk to her. He figured though that they could talk on the way to his house.

Arnold glanced up at Helga every few minutes but she never saw him glance at her. She continued to work silently until she had gotten up from the desk and after talking to the teacher for a minute, she had left the classroom. Arnold thought that maybe Helga had gone to the bathroom or to get a drink but that wasn't the case for Helga - at least half was right. She did go to the bathroom but she went there not to use it but to try and make her mind calm down. She hadn't gotten any sleep fearing that Big Bob or Miriam would catch her with a bag and question her about it; playing different scenarios in her head. Helga had decided to ask Phoebe to lie to them if they called her to see if she was at her house. Initially, Phoebe didn't want to do it but knowing how Helga's parents were, she agreed and even told her own parents who had now by then, understood Helga's home life.

She had spent nearly 10 minutes in the bathroom trying to keep her mind from racing all over the place. When other girls came into the bathroom, Helga pretended like nothing was wrong and turned on the sink to wash her hands. They looked at her for a minute before continuing to walk into 2 separate bathroom stalls as they started to talk. Helga rolled her eyes and left knowing that it was probably going to be some kind of stupid conversation. When she was just out of the bathroom though, she heard one of the girls mention her name asking her friend if that was the girl who 'fakes' her home life. She heard the girl's friend replying with something along the lines of a 'delusional freak' who fakes her home life to get attention.

Helga showed little to no emotion at the words as she was used to it by Big Bob and Miriam. To Helga, the words had little effect on her. She walked back to class then as she walked in, she sat in her seat and continued to work. Arnold was just finishing one part of it; starting to work on another part when he saw Helga. He noticed that she looked less stressed out then before and had welcomed her back with a smile which in return, Helga gave a smile back to him.

School had finally ended. Arnold walked out of the building with his stuff, since it was the weekend, he took the project with him and waited for Helga who came just 15 minutes later. He had seen her talk to Phoebe before going their separate ways home. As soon as Helga and Arnold started to walk to his house, she felt calmer then the days before when she would just go up to her own room and stay there or find something to do in order to avoid going home. On the way to Arnold's house, they had ran into Stinky, Gerald, Sid, and Harold. Arnold greeted them with Helga by his side as they stopped to talk.

"Hey Arnold, you wanna come and get pizza with us? We bet Harold he couldn't eat 3 extra large pizzas." Stinky said.

"Yeah, we bet him and now we're on our way." Sid told him.

"You guys know I can. I can eat the pizzas no problem." Harold boasted.

"I believe it when I see it bubba." Gerald told Harold as he crossed his arms.

"Not today guys, Helga and I are going back to my house to hang out and maybe work on the project." Arnold said to them.

"Awww, look it guys, Arnold got a girlfriend!" Harold teased.

At that moment, Helga blushed which was taken noticed by Stinky who also joined it the bantering. Sid and Gerald switched the conversations back to the pizzas as they continued to walk to the pizza parlor. Gerald and Arnold told each other bye before he caught up to the rest. Arnold and Helga watched as Helga then turned away before muttering what sounded to Arnold was 'idiots'. Arnold knew that Stinky, Harold, and Sid could be stupid sometimes so it was no surprise for either of them that Harold and Stinky would tease them about Helga being Arnold's 'girlfriend'.

"I'm sorry Helga, I know they can be stupid like that." Arnold said in an apologetic tone.

"Don't worry about it Football Head, I just want to get to your house." Helga replied.

"Okay, we should be there in another 10 minutes." Arnold replied.

Helga nodded and sure enough, they were at Arnold's house in 10 minutes, it was the same routine as last time. When they walked into the hallway, they were greeted by Phil and Pookie. Phil was eating cookies while Pookie karate chopping watermelon which caused the juice to splatter on the walls causing Phil's cookies to get a little bit soggy. They talked to Arnold and Helga a bit before they headed to Arnold's room.

In his room, Arnold had set up a blow up mattress for Helga as he offered to pump air into it when it was time to go to sleep. Helga had blushed at the offer and had sat her things up against Arnold's wall. For the next few hours, they had hung out and watched some movies before heading down to eat dinner - which wasn't as much of a mystery as it usually was. For once, Helga was treated like she existed and not ignored. She also didn't have to make her own dinner. As dinner was over, they had gone out to get ice cream. Arnold could see how happy Helga was and thought that she hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Few hours had passed and Helga was already tired. Pookie handed some blankets and few sheets to let Helga use for the weekend. She smiled before going back to her usual self to which Arnold smiled before going back to his room. When he got to it, he saw that Helga was already sleeping on his bed. Arnold walked over and kissed her on her forehead before getting his remote for his couch to appear. He grabbed one of the blankets and fell asleep; taking one last look at a sleeping Helga.


	5. Chapter 5

Being at Arnold's house was quite an experience for Helga but a good one. The boarders, who were still living there, although Suzie and Oskar had divorced just a few years back, with Suzie finally being happy and Oskar moving to another city. Phil of course, was the most happy about it since Oskar was no longer living there as well as the rest of the boarders who were happy, all were nice and helpful to Helga. They didn't pretend that Helga wasn't there and they even asked her what she had wanted for dinner - of course she really didn't expect it but she had chosen a dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. To Helga, it was a lot better than a sandwich and few chips.

Arnold and Helga mostly spent time together; going to the movies, the park, arcade, anywhere they felt like going. Helga couldn't remember when she had this much fun and didn't have to worry about anything. Of course Phil and Pookie knew that Arnold and Helga would be spending most of the weekend together so they didn't mind if they come later than expected - as long as they didn't make too much noise waking up the boarders and themselves coming in. To keep it quiet and to keep from making to much noise, they planned on using the fire escape then open Arnold's skylight window to get back into his room.

Saturday had come and Arnold wanted to go to the park with Helga. While he was awake, he noticed that Helga was still sleeping soundly. He noticed that she wasn't wearing her clothes from yesterday and figured that she had gotten uncomfortable and changed into what she usually wore to bed. When the Blanket covering her slipped a little, he noticed that Helga wearing a light pink spaghetti strapped crop top that hung semi loose on her body with a matching pair of panties. Arnold blushed at the sight but also found Helga's body beautiful but also sexy at the same time. He couldn't help but stare at Helga and at how much her body had changed over the years.

Underneath her tomboyish clothes was a body that was slender with fair skin but also had curves to her figure. Helga had a small pear shaped figure and it didn't help that her breasts were beautifully rounded which was shown under her loose crop top. Arnold could only imagine what the back looked like and got the chance when Helga turned onto her stomach. It too was perfectly rounded but most of all was how the light from the sun hit her body making it as though as Helga's body was glowing.

Arnold turned away sweating and had to go to the bathroom to cool off his face from it being red from blushing; closing his bedroom door gently shut. He had never seen Helga look like that with her hair gracefully down her side and back and in her panties with a matching loose crop top. He'd only seen her in her regular clothes at school but what he had just seen was beautiful to him. He had gone back up to his room silently opening his bedroom door and to his surprise, Helga was now awake. She was still laying in the bed but was stretching before sitting up; fixing her straps but still showed the silhouette of her breasts.

"Good morning Helga." Arnold said as he still blushed and turned away.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Arnold didn't answer but it wasn't until she looked down to see, she was embarrassed to see that because she wore a loose crop top, it had exposed some parts of her breast. When she saw, she quickly covered herself up with Arnold's green blanket. Her face was flushed with red as she looked down in embarrassment for few minutes.

"I'm going to go and give you some privacy so you can get dressed." Arnold finally said.

"Oh, um yea, I guess I should so that we won't have anymore awkward moments." Helga said, still with embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it." Arnold said reassuringly.

15 minutes had passed and Arnold - who had gone to take a shower, had gone up and knocked on his bedroom door unsure if Helga was still getting dressed or not. Few seconds later, Helga opened his bedroom door. Arnold stepped in as Helga shut the door. Helga sported a pair of black skinny jeans, her black shoes, and blue t-shirt with some design on it. She had decided to not wear her beanie and to Arnold, she looked more beautiful without it.

As for Arnold, Helga couldn't believe how Arnold toned out. He had muscles from all his time playing baseball and it showed whenever he wore his baseball uniform. His hair still looked the same but it was cut much shorter than from their days at PS 118 and junior high. He still wore his hat and Helga knew that Arnold wearing his blue hat wouldn't change. He never asked Helga to leave his room and he admitted to himself in his head that he didn't want her to but that didn't happen as Helga gave Arnold privacy as he did her.

She went downstairs and saw that Phil, Pookie, and few of the boarders were in the kitchen talking. When Helga walked in, she was greeted by Suzie and Pookie. Helga greeted them back as Phil argued with Mr. Potts on who would've won last night's wrestling match. Pookie gave Helga breakfast dressed in one of her 'themed' outfits that Arnold told her about. Today, it was a ninja suit as the breakfast - at least to Helga, had the same theme. She didn't mind it as she became comfortable around Arnold's family. 10 minutes later, Arnold had come downstairs and Pookie had given Arnold the same plate of food with Pookie jumping away landing with prestine to another part of the kitchen.

As they finished breakfast, Arnold asked Helga if she wanted to go to the park with Helga agreeing. When they headed out, they got ice cream on the way and ate it in the park. It was a nice day with barely any breeze but still relaxing. When they walked to a bench, they sat down and started talking - one of the topics being relationships.

"Have you dated yet?" Arnold asked Helga; breaking the silence.

"Nah, I don't think anybody at school would date me. I did try but I guess I was too complicated to be with." Helga said to him.

"You're not complicated, you're just not like other girls, you're different from the stereotypical cookie cutter girls at school." Arnold said to her.

"Cookie cutter girls?" Helga questioned.

"Yea, you know, the ones that talk about boys, gossip, and makeup." Arnold told her.

"Well, I do wear some makeup but it's not like I pack it on." Helga said.

"That's what I like about you." Arnold told her.

"What do you mean?" Helga asked; curious by the comment.

"You have a tough tomboyish look but there's more to you than that. On the inside there's someone beautiful and I don't know if this is also the right word but also sexy too." Arnold said with his face almost red.

"You think I'm beautiful and sexy?" Helga asked.

"Would it be weird if I did?" He asked.

"No, I just never thought you saw me like that." She said.

"I have a confession, this morning when I woke up -" Arnold was unable to finish as they heard a familiar sounding voice calling them.

"Hello Arnold, hello Helga." The voice called.

When they both looked to their left, it was Lila who was walking towards them.

"Oh hey Lila." Arnold said.

Helga got the hint that Arnold wanted to make Lila leave them alone as soon as possible so she let him talk.

"How are you two on this ever so lovely day?" Lila asked.

"We're fine. Just talking." Arnold said to her.

"Oh, well, I was wondering if I can talk to you Arnold." Lila asked him.

"Okay, talk." He simply said.

"I mean Arnold is can we talk alone?" She asked.

Arnold looked at Helga who was waiting for his reply as well. He leaned close to Helga and whispered into her ear; unheard to Lila but she still waited. Helga nodded some to Arnold's unheard words by Lila but knew it was probably some 'friend thing'.

When Arnold leaned back, he got up but not before whispering something else to Helga who in returned smiled. Arnold and Lila walked few feet away behind a tree to talk. Lila still looked the same but the only difference was she filled out, her hair was longer, and her freckles were less visible. Lila could tell that he really didn't want to talk to her but she decided to make it quick.

"Arnold, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry what happened between us and I was hoping that since you're not dating anyone that we could go out sometime?" Lila asked him with a smile.

"Who said I wasn't dating?" Arnold asked.

"Oh, you are? Who?" Lila asked curiously.

"None of your business who. You had your chance and now I'm giving all my love and attention to someone else." Arnold bluntly told her.

"Well I know it can't be Helga." Lila said.

"What do you mean by that?" Arnold asked irritated.

"Well I mean, Helga and you wouldn't make much of a good couple since she's really not feminine. You need a feminine girlfriend Arnold and I am ever so certain that once you see that, we'll go out." Lila said to him.

"You know what Lila? You're nothing but a jerk. You don't know nothing about Helga or our lives so do yourself, Helga and I a favor and stay out of our lives." Arnold told her walking away.

"Okay Arnold, if that's what you want." Lila simply said.

They both headed opposite directions with Arnold walking back to Helga who was eating another ice cream. Arnold felt calmer seeing Helga. He walked up to Helga and they headed out of the park to go somewhere else. The decided on going to the arcade where Arnold and Helga competed with each other to get the most tickets. When Arnold Helped Helga with a new game, he ended up accidentally kissing her on her neck when Helga moved her upper body.


	6. Chapter 6

Arnold blushed at the realization of what he had done. Helga stopped playing the game and looked straight into his eyes. Never had Arnold kissed her much less on her neck. She didn't know to react or whether to be mad that he would kiss her on her neck, after all, they weren't dating and they had never even talked about dating or if it was okay to kiss each other in that but since they were friends, why would they? Friends usually don't kiss each other on the neck.

To Helga, the kiss was warm and delicate but soft all at the same time. It was the first time anyone even showed her affection like that so to her, it was hard to know how to react. She was never given any type of attention, except for when Miriam took over for Big Bob at his job and the few times Big Bob and her spent 'quality time' together. She continued to look at Arnold who was now not only still embarrassment but also regretting the whole thing. He himself didn't know why he did it. Was it to prove that he didn't care about Lila? Was it his and Lila's conversation? Or was it that he was starting to fall in love with Helga? He himself knew that since the end of elementary towards junior high that he was starting to develop a crush on Helga and unbeknownst to him, she had felt the same since they first met.

Helga continued to look at him until she approached him; giving him a kiss of her own but not on the cheek or neck, but on his lips. The kiss between them was soft and warm. This time, Helga didn't have to sneak in kisses but this time, she was up front about it. They continued to kiss with Arnold holding her close to him; placing his hands on her waist and the small of her back. Helga had her hands around Arnold's neck; not wanting to end their kiss but soon would have to, to catch their breaths.

They stopped and decided to leave forgetting all about their tickets and the games; just letting them sit where they were at. Arnold wanted to go somewhere private but knew that there was no way that any motel manager would rent a room to them so they had gone back to his house. It was around 6:30 p.m. that they had come back. Phil and Pookie were surprised because they didn't expect them back for another hour. Arnold had told them that Helga and him got bored and it was starting to get a little bit cold so they decided to come home - which wasn't a complete lie. He had told Pookie that they had already eaten - also not a complete lie and that if they were hungry, they would go out for pizza. Phil and Pookie were okay with this and Pookie went back to karate chopping meat while Phil complained about the mess.

Soon they were up in Arnold's room and soon Arnold was undressing Helga. He pulled off her t-shirt and tossed it somewhere around the room with Helga doing the same to Arnold. He then focused on her skinny jeans and unbutton them revealing a pink lace thong with a matching lace bra. Helga blushed when she was now in her bra and panties in fron't of Arnold but soon felt comfortable when Arnold kissed her on her lips with Helga giving him entrance. Arnold's tongue began to explore the inside of Helga's mouth; not missing any part of it while he gently caressed her pussy with 2 of his fingers; earning moans while Helga was still deep into the kiss.

Arnold soon pulled her lace thong off and threw them onto the floor. Helga's pussy was smooth and didn't have any hair on it. He also noticed that cum was dripping from her pussy making it almost completely soaked. Arnold began to tease it by rubbing his thumb inside her folds gently caressing it in small circles. Helga gripped the sheets hard almost causing them to come off the mattress. She was panting out Arnold's name in between gasps as she gasped even louder when Arnold took one of Helga's already hard nipple into his mouth; rolling it with his tongue while his free hand began to pinch and play with her other nipple. Helga was gasping harder and harder when she saw that Arnold had gotten off of her. He begged for him to come back but heard him unbutton and unzip his pants; stepping out of them while he took off his boxers. He got on the bed pulling Helga by her left thigh so that she would be close to him.

"Are you ready for this?" Arnold whispered.

"Yes." Helga simply replied.

"Relax for me." Arnold said to in a seductive tone.

"Take me." She replied as she started to relax.

Arnold had teased her entrance with his tip as she started to cum once again; making her pussy and the sheets soaked. After awhile of teasing, Arnold gently but a little bit rough put his dick all the way into Helga's pussy; causing her to gasp loudly in pain but also in pleasure as well. She was moving her hips up and down; going along with Arnold's movements. Soon after Helga turned onto her stomach did Arnold put his erection inside her. She once again gasped as Arnold started to thrust slowly in and out of her then moved faster inside her. Helga few times began to feel like she couldn't take anymore with not being able to hold herself up until Arnold would re position her body. The thrusts of Arnold's movements not only made him pant but Helga as well until Arnold eventually came inside Helga.

They started to fall asleep laying down next to each other. It wasn't until around 2:00 a.m did they - along with Phil, Pookie, and the rest of the boarders heard a loud knock at the door. The knocking turned into pounding; pounding on the door impatiently as to await an answer. When Phil finally got to the door with all the boarders -including Arnold and Helga would went downstairs to see who it was, they soon the saw the face of Big Bob Pataki who was seemingly drunk and angry at the same time. Miriam was waiting in the car almost ready to pass out.

Big Bob was drunk and Phil could see that just by looking at him. Big Bob pushed his way inside the boarding house almost knocking over Phil in the process.

"W-where is my daughter old man?!" Big Bob asked in a drunk tone.

"What are you doing here Pataki?!" Phil asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?! I'm getting my nut job of a daughter!" Big Bob shouted at him.

"Go home Pataki, you're drunk and I don't want you in here doing something foolish!" Phil shouted just as loud back at him.

"Don't tell me what to do old man! I came to get the girl and I'm not leaving without her!" Big Bob said to him.

Big Bob began looking through every room of the house; knocking over stuff and shoving people aside while calling out Helga's name. Arnold and Helga saw this and immediately went back up to his room; locking it before Big Bob could reach it. Helga looked terrified as she quickly got dressed; frantically gathering her stuff while putting clothes on. She was about to put her bra and shirt on when they heard Big Bob coming up his stairs.

"Hurry Helga!" Arnold said to her.

"I'm trying, I'm too panicked Football Head!" Helga said in a frantic tone.

Arnold began to quickly help her when they heard the same thunderous knock on Arnold's door. Big Bob began pounding on it harder until the door came loose enough to where the lock was weakened. When Big Bob finally pushed his way in, he saw that Arnold had his hands around Helga's bust trying to help her with her bra as Helga looked terrified staring at Big Bob.

Big Bob however was more than angry and started to head towards Arnold and Helga.

"You little tramp! What do you think you're doing?!" He shouted at Helga.

"Nothing Bob." Helga bluntly said.

"What do you mean nothing?! Look at what you're doing!" He shouted.

"It's none of your business Bob." Helga replied.

Frustrated, Big Bob grabbed Helga by her arm dragging her down the stairs. Helga had just enough time to grab her things that were quickly put by the door. Big Bob forced Helga to follow him and Phil and Pookie; along with the other boarders, tried to stop him but were either shoved or pushed to the ground. Big Bob finally reached the door before turning around to talk to Phil and Pookie.

"Don't interfere with my business old man. This is none of your concern." He said to Phil.

He then looked at Arnold who was just few feet away. He sneered at Arnold as Helga tried to escape his grasp but it was no use as Big Bob held a firm grip around her arm. The pressure was starting hurt her arm and it was only released a little when Helga moved her arm some.

"And you, stay away from the girl and our house. If you come near our house I'm calling the cops on you!" Big Bob shouted at him.

With that being said, Big Bob took Helga and slammed the door behind him. Arnold went up to the window; just in time to see that Helga was pushed into the car with her things and Big Bob drive off as soon as he himself got into the car. He went back up to his room and saw that Helga did in fact leave some things behind - her phone and what looked like a heart locket face down under his pillow when he went to lay down.

He picked up the locket to look at it and saw a picture of himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Arnold continued to look at the picture of himself in Helga's locket. When he clenched it, he heard what sounded like a lock being unlocked. When he opened it, he read the inscription inside. Written in cursive handwriting was a message to him from Helga.

 _To Arnold,_

 _My Soul,_

 _You Are always in my heart_

 _Love, Helga G. Pataki_

Arnold didn't know how to feel or how to react. He didn't know how long Helga had loved him but from the inscription, it seemed like Helga had a crush on him for awhile. He thought about the journal he and Gerald had found and how fast Helga ripped out the last page before he and Gerald could read it. After few moments, he realized that it had all made sense but wondered if he was right. He wondered if the last page was about him too. Arnold also figured that since Helga was a the bully that someone could try and use her crush on him against her in some way but he didn't know for sure. All Arnold cared about for now was talking to Helga and making sure she was okay. Different scenarios ran through his head about what had happened between Big Bob and Helga.

 _Is big Bob beating her? Is he yelling at her? Is he threatening her?_

Arnold didn't want to think about it and tried to find a way to talk to Helga - until he remembered about school. Tomorrow was Monday and that meant that he could talk to Helga and give her back her locket. He wondered if he should tell her he read what was inside but decided against as he thought it was a personal thing to Helga. He closed the locket and got his stuff ready for school.

Arnold went down stairs to see how everyone else was doing. Most of the boarders were in their rooms sleeping while Pookie and Phil were in the living room. When Arnold walked in, he notice that Phil had a bag of peas on his head. Under it was a big lump.

"Grandpa? What happened?" Arnold asked shocked.

"It's nothing to worry about Shortman, Pataki just gave me a big lump on my head when he pushed me down." Phil told him.

"Grandpa what are we going to do about Helga? I'm worried about her." Arnold said to him; sitting next to him.

"Well Shortman, we could go to the police and file charges but knowing Pataki, he will have pretty could attorneys to get out of it." Phil replied.

"We could always use force." Pookie chimed in as she was starting to get riled up.

Arnold and Phil looked at Pookie who was now leaving the room; both assuming she was going to put on one of her costumes. Arnold sighed and as he did, the only thing he could think of was waiting for school the next day. He decided to go for a walk to try and get his mind off of things. He then started to wonder how Big Bob even found out about Helga going to his house since Helga had told them that neither he or Miriam paid much attention to her and that she had once stayed at Phoebe's for the same amount of time and that didn't end as it did with her being at his house.

As he was walking, he heard footsteps coming up from either behind or in front of him; not paying much attention as he continued to think of how Big Bob knew about Helga staying at his house. When he was nearing the corner of the sidewalk, a hand grabbed his arm; almost spinning him around and knocking him down. When he looked to see who it was Phoebe. Arnold was surprised to even see Phoebe but Phoebe looked like she was worried about something and maybe thought he could help.

"Hey Phoebe, what's wrong?" Arnold asked confused.

"I'm sorry to do that Arnold but I was wondering if you had heard from Helga?" Phoebe asked.

"No, not since Big Bob came to my house, knocked over my grandpa in a drunken rage then dragged Helga into their hummer driving off. He even threatened to call the cops on us if any of us went near his house." Arnold told her.

"So I guess you know about Helga's home life now huh?" Phoebe asked.

"Some but not all of it." Arnold said to her.

"Her life at home isn't a good one. There's only a few people that know what it's really like." Phoebe said to him.

"Mind explaining to me what it's like for her?" Arnold asked curious but a little worried on the inside.

"Well, even while we were in preschool, her parents really didn't pay much attention to her. They were too focused on Olga and her accomplishments to notice her. As time went on, they continued to pay little attention to her. In that house, it's always about Olga, even while she was at college. Olga doesn't really understand Helga as evidenced by Olga calling Helga 'baby sister' and not listening to Helga's more serious problems." Phoebe said to Arnold.

"That's terrible. Have they even shown to care about her at all?!" Arnold asked.

"Some but not all the time. Although there are few times where Helga has shown she cared about Olga but their relationship is still strained as well as with her parents." Phoebe told him. After 20 more minutes of talking, they said their goodbyes and Arnold had got more worried about Helga. It wasn't until 10 minutes later that he remembered he brought his phone with him in case someone called or texted him; hoping that it would be Helga mostly.

He looked at his phone and saw that no one had called or even texted him. The only texts that were visible were the ones from few days ago. He decided to take a shot to see if Helga had her phone with her wherever she was at; hoping Big Bob wasn't watching over her but knew that wasn't a possibility.

 _Arnold: Hey Helga, what's up?_

He had sent the text and saw that it had a check mark next to it indicating it had been sent. He decided to wait on the bench; staring at his phone until he would get a text, even if it was a text telling him she was busy or to leave her alone and she'll talk to him later text. 10 minutes had passed and nothing. He decided to send few more texts; hoping it would get Helga's attention.

 _Arnold: I just wanted to see if you were busy or you wanted to talk._

 _Arnold: It's okay if you are busy, I just thought I text you to see how you were._

After the texts were all sent, he waited another 10 minutes. Still nothing. His only option was to wait till tomorrow at school.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for not updating in awhile, I've been busy recently and haven't had time to update!**

* * *

The alarm went off and Arnold turned it off. He then remembered about what had happened over the weekend with Big Bob and not being able to talk to Helga. He got out of his bed to go shower then got ready more in a hurry than usual. He was so quick to leave that he didn't even bother eating the breakfast that was left for him on the kitchen table. He ran out the door to the bus stop; just early enough to where he wouldn't be late for it. He panted hard like he had ran a 10 mile marathon. When the bus came, he was relieved that he could rest for awhile and catch his breath. He walked up the steps and sat at the nearest seat. He saw that most of his friends were already on the bus and he knew that the next stop would be Helga's. Arnold could feel his heart pound as the bus was nearing Helga's street. When the bus finally came to a stop, Arnold watched as he waited for Helga's front door to open. A minute or 2 passed with nobody coming out. Another 5 minutes the bus waited until finally the door opened. When Arnold looked, it was Helga's mom, Miriam, who looked liked she had just woken up and could barely see where she was walking to with the bright sun.

The bus driver opened the door confused as to why Miriam came out in her disheveled look. When Miriam finally got to the final step, she leaned against the seat closest near her for her to hold on to. She groaned a bit holding her head as the bus driver and unknowingly to everyone else, Arnold.

"H-Helga isn't h-here. She's currently living with her grandma and w-will stay there for the rest of the school year." Miriam managed to say but with some slurred words.

Arnold could tell that Miriam had been drinking some of her 'smoothies', she could barely walk or even talk for that matter. It wasn't until a minute later that Big Bob came out and walked over to the bus. He didn't come onto the bus but Arnold knew that Big Bob had eyed him before he too spoke.

"Hey! The girl's living with her grandma. I called the school and they already know. Don't stop here!" Big Bob yelled from a distance.

Big Bob eyed Arnold once again before getting into his hummer then as he started it up, took off just leaving a trail of dust behind him.

With it all being said and done and Miriam stumbling a little but managed to make it inside the house, the bus driver closed the door and drove away from Helga's house. Arnold was pissed that Helga was now living with her aunt who knows where and that it was probably Big Bob's idea and Miriam was too drunk to care one way or the other.

20 minutes had passed before the bus finally arrived at school. Arnold waited all this time and now he couldn't even talk to Helga. For all he knew, Helga probably didn't even have any cellphone service or perhaps Big Bob broke her phone in two pieces; preventing Helga to talk to him and vice versa. Arnold walked to his locker until he saw some of his friends. He thought about hanging out with them since he hadn't in awhile but he knew he wouldn't be much fun right.

Arnold opened his locker and put everything into it. He reached inside his pocket until he felt something small. When he pulled it out, he remembered that he was going to give Helga back her locket without her knowing it so it wouldn't be awkward or embarrassing for her. He clutched it in his hand before putting it in his locker remembering the words that were written when opening it. He sighed before walking to his class. While walking, he heard a voice call out but thought it was to someone else until he felt a hand stop him by resting onto his shoulder.

When he turned around, he saw that it Lila. He glared for a moment before continuing to walk to his class. Again, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn't feel like talking to anyone especially Lila, not after what had happened in the park. He had decided to just ignore her and get on with the rest of the school day and go home. It was bad enough that he didn't know if Helga was okay or not but it only worsened when Lila wanted his attention.

The day continued until it was lunch, the school had allowed students to go off campus and eat if they chose to but provided that they signed back and got to class. Arnold signed out on a separate clipboard with the names of people who had gone off campus to eat lunch - which usually had to be signed on the 4th page of the sheets. Arnold Signed his name and walked out of the school building unbeknownst to him that Lila had done the same. He walked into a small diner type of place and got himself some lunch still thinking about Helga. Arnold never realized how much of an affect Helga had on him and that made him feel loved and he also felt special that a girl had a crush on him for this long but only to her, a possible one sided but slowly maybe Arnold was starting to feel the same way. They had already gotten intimate with each other even though it was really short but that was the first time he had gotten intimate with anyone before.

As he continued to eat his lunch, he once again saw Lila, he looked down ignoring her; not wanting to talk to her or even see her today.

Few minutes had passed and Lila had walked into the small diner; walking towards Arnold. He immediately got up but was only stopped when Lila stepped in front of him. He sighed in annoyance before walking around her but the same thing happened.

"What do you want Lila?" Arnold asked with annoyance.

"Well Arnold, I saw that you weren't in an ever so good mood so I thought I cheer you up." Lila said.

"Thanks but no thanks Lila." Arnold replied.

"Why ever so not Arnold? After all, it must be ever so difficult not having Helga here?" Lila said to him.

"What do you know about that?" Arnold asked now curious.

"Well Arnold, I might have called Helga's dad." Lila replied to him.

"You're the one that caused this?!" Arnold asked pissed.

Arnold didn't have to wait for Lila to answer and took off. He went back to his house and tried to call or even text Helga. He tried few times over and over. He waited for an hour but still nothing. He didn't want to back to school so Phil told them that Arnold wasn't feeling well and to excuse him.

Hours passed and it was 6:30 p.m. Arnold knew he must have fallen asleep waiting for Helga. Arnold woke up rubbing his eyes when he saw that there was a new text. When he went to see who it was from, he was surprised and shocked to see that it was from Helga. The text had been sent while he was sleeping. He opened the text and read it.

 _Helga: Hey Arnold, I just wanted to tell you that you won't be seeing me for awhile. Miriam or Bob might have told someone by now but I'm now living with my aunt until the end of the school year or summer. Yup Arnold, I woke up in my grandma's house with most of my clothes packed and my things packed. Luckily for me my phone was in my pocket and dead. Took me awhile to charge it seeing as it was at 2%. I can't really text back since I can't get caught texting or calling anyone back home. I'll try and text you tomorrow._

Arnold was relieved that Helga had texted him back and that she wasn't in trouble or miserable - probably miserable anyways whether it be there or at her house but relieved nonetheless. He didn't want to text her back to avoid not getting her in trouble. He laid back on his bed knowing that Helga was okay.

"Shortman! Dinner's ready!" Phil called from the bottom of his stairs.

Arnold washed his hands and went down for dinner. He told them about Helga being at her grandma's. After Dinner, he went out to take a walk and told Phil and Pookie that he would be back later on. Arnold walked until he came to the ice cream shop and had an ice cream to try and stop his heart from beating so fast. He sat on the bench and ate his ice cream cone. When he was about to leave, he heard Lila calling to him from behind. He didn't bother turning around to talk to her but that wasn't the case as Lila caught up to him.

"Arnold, what an ever so wonderful surprise." She said.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime. I'm sure we'd make an ever so wonderful couple." Lila told him.

"No." Arnold simply said.

He then walked away from Lila. She watched before catching up to him again; once again irritating Arnold. She didn't say anything but just continued to follow him until both of them found that they were out of the park. Arnold was heading home hoping that Lila would stop eventually.

"How long are you going to follow me?" Arnold asked.

"Till we have an ever so wonderful conversation." Lila replied.

"About?" Arnold asked back.

"About us dating and making an ever so wonderful couple." She said back.

"I'm not dating you." Arnold said to her.

"Listen Arnold, I'll let you in on a little secret. I called Big Bob and told him about Helga spending the weekend with you. I over heard your conversation. I of course, ever so waited until Sunday so it wouldn't be too much of a coincidence. I made myself anonymous so I can call Helga's parents back at anytime." Lila said in a deceiving tone.

"Why would you do that?!" Arnold asked shocked.

"You lost interest in me Arnold and though I never like liked you, I still thought you would've still had a crush on me." She said.

Arnold now even more annoyed wanted to get away from Lila. He knew that he could still try and talk to Helga - he only had to be careful but he ever knew that Lila could be that heartless to send Helga away just because he had lost interest in her. The school year was only few months away but Arnold knew that he also didn't want to date Lila. He didn't know if it was going to be worth it or not or even how long Lila wanted him to date her for or if Lila was going to back Helga's parents and tell them it was a 'misunderstanding'. How would he know that Lila would keep her promise? He didn't but he knew that Lila could double cross him.

He thought about how it would look if Helga came back earlier than expected and found out that he and Lila were dating? After all that happened between them, it'd look like he just used her and he didn't care about her at all - which wasn't the truth at all. He cared about Helga more than he himself realized but dating Lila was going to break her heart. No way did Arnold want to do that to Helga, especially after what he had seen written in her locket and the intimacy they shared on that weekend. He thought about just asking Helga about it but with her not being able to text back that much he was virtually stuck on not knowing what to do. He, himself, Arnold, the one person that everyone could rely on for help was in need of help himself.

He sighed and looked up at Lila. He hated her more than he hated Iggy when he had to wear the bunny pajamas. He walked away with him nor Lila saying anything. Lila knew that Arnold would think about it and eventually call her and ask her what he had to do. As Arnold was finally home, he went up straight into his room and found that he had Helga's locket in right pocket. He thought it might have fallen in when he was switching out books. He opened it and reading the words that he had read before yesterday. He sighed again and looked at his phone to see if he had any new texts - nothing. Arnold didn't know what to do. If he dated Lila for however long and Helga came back then she would be heart broken. If he didn't, he would have to continue to talk to Helga with possibly 1-2 texts a day at the most but she wouldn't be heart broken.

Arnold just wanted everything to go back to the way it was. If everything was back to the way it was, then he could still hangout with Helga and his friends and they could be a couple. Arnold soon fell asleep not wanting to think about it anymore than he already had.


	9. Chapter 9

Helga woke up to the sun shining bright into her eyes. Even though her window had curtains, it did little as they were somewhat thin so the sun could still shine into her room and force her eyes to be open. She groaned as she turned over to the other side but it was no use as the sun still invaded her eyes. She got up and got dressed as she looked to see that it was only 7:30 a.m. Helga sighed and continue to get dressed and head down the hallway, down the stairs, and into the the small kitchen only big enough to fit 3 people at a time. As Helga sat down still tired, she was met by her grandma. Her grandma, was humming as she was finished making breakfast and putting it on 2 plates that had some kind of fancy design on them.

Helga who was still tired and also rubbing her eyes, could barely even see the food until it was right in front of her. Her breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and hash brow Helga ate the food because there wasn't too many options but Helga enjoyed actually having food in her stomach besides when she was at Arnold's and not having to wonder what she'd eat.

Helga's grandma was surprisingly not like Big Bob or Miriam. She was kind, caring and never put her down or insulted her. Of course, she still loved Olga but her grandma showed the same amount of attention she did Olga. The only thing that Helga didn't like was when her grandma would nag her about using or wanting to use her phone and slowly getting to her chores she had given to her. Living with her grandma was kind of hard for Helga since she had been ignored for most of her life from her own parents but in a way, it was also kind of nice for Helga to be needed and not ignored. As Helga was doing the dishes while her grandma was out in the backyard gardening, Helga took the opportunity to take out her phone to see if their was any texts.

When she looked at her phone, she saw she had unread texts from Phoebe and Arnold but also saw she had some from an unknown number. Helga decided to see what the unknown number's texts read first.

 _Unknown number: Heard you're living with your grandma, must be so fun and also so very sad not being with Arnold but don't worry I'll take care of him ;)_

 _Unknown number: Do you think Arnold will really want to date you if you come back here? He'll already move on._

Helga, confused guessed who probably got her number and texted her. She knew that it must have been Lila. Of course, she didn't really care what 'Lila' had to say, she knew that Arnold loved her but also didn't know what 'Lila' had up her sleeve. She heard her grandma walking up back to the house and Helga went back to working. When Helga was all done, her grandma had given her a break. Helga decided to explore around the neighborhood for awhile just to see what the neighborhood was like.

Helga told her grandma that she would explore the neighborhood with the condition that she'd be back home for dinner. Helga agreed and set off out to the neighborhood. Helga took out her phone almost forgetting to read Arnold's texts that he had sent the days before.

 _Arnold: Hey Helga, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Hope you're doing okay._

 _Arnold: You won't believe what happened. Lila tried to ask me out. I told her no but I think she'll try again._

 _Arnold: When you come back, I want to ask you something and give you something._

Helga smiled just reading Arnold's texts but was also worried that Lila had asked Arnold out but was relieved when Arnold told her no. She was also worried that Lila might try again more and more until Arnold would. She spaced out a bit until she had heard a voice coming from behind her that sounded like it was in a panicked tone.

"Woah, Hey! Watch out!" the voice yelled.

Helga looked behind her and quickly moved out of the way. When she looked, she saw that the guy who the voice belonged to had crashed and fell off his bike.

He had crashed and dusted himself off and took off his helmet. He was relieved that he actually listened to his mom when she told him to put on a helmet. Helga walked over to him to see if he was okay. When she approached him, she saw that he had some scratches on his forehead and arm. When the boy took off the helmet, she saw that his hair was black that looked what used to be spiked but was flattened by the helmet. His eyes were light brown. He wore a jacket with black pants, white shoes and a black t-shirt with a design that she couldn't make out.

"Are you okay?" Helga asked.

"Yea, I'm good, just some scratches." The boy said.

"My name's Helga, what's yours?" She asked.

The dusted himself off a bit before answering.

"My name's Justin. Sorry I almost ran you over. He said.

"Oh, it's okay. I wasn't really paying attention anyways." Helga replied.

"So how old are you?" She asked him as they both walked over to his bike.

"I'm 17." He replied.

"Oh, I'm 16." She said.

"Cool. Oh hey, do you want to hang out sometime?" He asked.

"Sure. I really don't know the neighborhood that well anyways." Helga said trying not to sound like she didn't know her way around completely.

"Okay, I'll stop by your house tomorrow then, there's a lot of stuff to do around here if you know where to look." He said to her.

They talked for a bit before both went their separate ways. Justin had told her that he was late for his mom's birthday and had to rush to get a present and get home so him family wouldn't wait long. Helga understood and continued to explore on her own until she went back home. It was around 6pm when she had heard her grandma talking on the phone. When she walked in, her grandma was just finishing up the conversation and noticed Helga.

"Hey dear. How was exploring the neighborhood?" She asked.

"It was okay. I ran into a boy named Justin and he invited me to hangout tomorrow." Helga replied.

"Oh, well as long you don't get into any trouble around here." She said to Helga.

"I'm going to my room." Helga said.

Helga went to her room and laid on her bed. She wasn't expecting to meet someone here since she'd only been here for a week so it was nice having someone to hangout with. Her grandma had registered her school and she would be starting in 2 days. She didn't know what to expect or how different it might be but she was prepared for anything they could throw at her. She took out her phone to see if there was anything new, when she looked there no texts from Arnold but a few from Phoebe telling her that she was okay and Arnold has been busy the last few days. Since it was around the time of year where the teachers would be giving tests out, she figured Arnold was studying. She texted Phoebe back telling her about how she was doing, Justin, and the school her grandma had registered for her. After she texted her she fell asleep until it was time for dinner.

2 days had passed and Helga was getting ready for school. From what her grandma said, it wasn't a school that required any uniforms just wearing what you wanted as long as it wasn't too inappropriate. Helga wasn't too worried as she finished and grabbed her lunch as she waited in her grandma's car. When they arrived, the school was bigger than her high school and started to wonder if she would be able to find her classes on time. She went inside the school and there she went to the principal's office to talk about her classes, rules, and what was expected - boring to Helga but if it got her out fast she would listen. The principal showed her the locker that she would be using and was given the combination. It was bigger than the one she had and she could decorate it if she chose to on the inside.

The day went on and Helga was able to find all her classes and even made some new friends but she wanted to be back with her old friends. As it turned out, Justin, the boy she met few days ago was in one of her classes. Her new friends told her about Justin and how he was a bit of a trouble maker and liked to lead some girls on if he found them attractive. Helga didn't know if she could believe them or not but she decided that it wouldn't hurt observing how he was around girls. At lunch, she sat by herself until one of the girls that talked to her came up and sat with her and another girl who was with her, also joined.

They began talking and asking about each other until she caught the attention of Justin who smiled at Helga a bit before one of his own friends brought back his attention. She smiled back and thought that this might be a new beginning for her for awhile. The day continued until school was over and Justin had walked up to Helga and asked her to hangout to which Helga accepted. They had gone to the arcade and hung around different places doing whatever. They went to the mall and ate at the food court and bought stuff not because they needed it but because they wanted it. Of course Helga wasn't really prepared for this but she managed to find some money and get few stuff.

Few hours had passed and Helga was taken home and she told her grandma all what she did. Her grandma just smiled and thought Helga might want to stay her permanently but knew it was up to Helga. She also knew how bad Big Bob and Miriam treated her which is why she offered to take in Helga. As she was at the kitchen table drinking tea that she had made, she started to remember how Big Bob and Miriam treated her. With them, it was always about Olga and she too admitted to herself that she doted on Olga but also paid attention to Helga when Helga wanted it, unlike Big Bob and Miriam who ignored her in favor of Olga. She remembered when she had came to visit and all the while she was there, Helga was being ignored and if they did notice, it was only for few seconds before they paid no mind to her at all.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a knock at her front door came. When she went to open it, she saw that the post man handed her a letter. Looking at the envelope, she saw that it was from Miriam. Opening the envelope, she began to read it hoping that somewhere in the letter they cared about how Helga was doing. The letter wasn't all that formal but she never expected to receive a nice letter from them.

 _Dear mom,_

 _We've decided that Helga should stay with you until the next school year. If you feel like she shouldn't then your more then welcome to be her permanent guardian and move back here so she can finish high school here. Big Bob and I have decided to let Olga live here once again._

 _P.S. If you do become her legal guardian, we're ready to sign any papers that would make you her legal guardian._

After reading the letter, she had become upset at them because not only have they decided on this without asking how Helga would feel but they didn't have the nerve to call and talk about this. She didn't know how Helga would take it but given their history, she doubted that Helga would care. After all, she thought that Helga would one day be prepared for this since they had never really cared about her.

She went up stairs to Helga's room and began talking to her about the letter. While talking to her, Helga didn't seem all that broken up by it; telling her grandma that she already knew it would happen sooner or later and that she wouldn't mind having a guardian that actually cared for her. They both agreed that after this school year, they would move back to where she was living and she would be Helga's legal guardian and live with her as long as Helga wanted to until she wanted to move out. Her grandma went down stairs and called up Big Bob and Miriam to discuss to which they only replied with little to few words on the subject. As it was all said and done, Helga began to wonder what kind of life she would have with her grandma permanently. She hoped that it would be a lot better than it was with Big Bob and Miriam. Helga was also excited because that meant that she could see Arnold again after this school year.

Helga immediately grabbed her phone and began to text Phoebe about it and to tell Arnold that she would be back by the Summer time. It wasn't until Phoebe texted back that she had informed Helga that Arnold, for unknown reasons to her or anybody had began to date Lila. Arnold would refuse to answer questions about it. When Helga read the texts, she had dropped her phone onto the floor.


	10. Chapter 10

Few weeks had passed and Arnold was still dating Lila - although to him it wasn't really dating as apposed to just getting her off of his back and to get Helga to come back. Lila had told him not to tell anyone anything or she wouldn't call the Patakis - in which that frustrated that he couldn't tell anyone about it since Lila didn't want anyone to get in the 'relationship'. All the past few weeks he'd been ignoring his friends he'd once hung out with and talked to. It got annoying to them that they decided to end contact with him until his 'relationship' with Lila ended and they became friends again.

The only few people that would ever talk to him was Phoebe and Gerald who knew that it wasn't possible for Arnold to be in love with Lila - he hadn't had a crush on her since 4th grade when Lila found out that Arnold had used Timberly to get her to love him. Gerald and Phoebe would try and make sense in this. After countless times of trying to figure it out, Phoebe got frustrated and texted Arnold to get some answers but didn't work out since Arnold told her he couldn't but that he'll explain when he got the chance. Phoebe understood and that was when Helga texted her to see how everything was.

Phoebe didn't want to hurt Helga anymore with the situation with Arnold and Lila but knew she would have no choice because Helga would just find out eventually. They ended up texting for few hours and even gave some news on her parents and Olga; much to Helga's disdain.

Phoebe had told Helga that her parents and Olga were happy and had even tried throwing most of Helga's stuff out but were only stopped by Olga for some unknown reason. She had went on to say that Big Bob would brag about Olga and that he or Miriam ever considered Helga their daughter and that she was no longer their problem. Helga grew in frustration and quickly switched the subject to her and her temporary new life and the possibility of coming back but living with her grandma. Helga was happy to tell Phoebe and thought about telling her about hanging out with Justin and even going to the same school as him but decided against it.

Just as they finished talking to each other, Phoebe was quick to tell her parents and they were happy that once again, Phoebe would get to see her best friend.

As it was time to go to school, Phoebe had gotten dressed and quickly ate a to go breakfast before quickly making it to the bus stop where she was greeted by Rhonda, Sheena, and Nadine. They ended up talking to each other for awhile before Phoebe mentioned Helga. Although neither of them ever saw eye to eye with Helga except for Phoebe, they had come to respect Helga and were happy that Helga would eventually come back. They continued talking until they stopped for another pick up - Arnold and Lila. The bus had gotten quiet as Lila with Arnold in tow walked and sat down on the opposite seats across the aisle just mere feet away. They all looked at them wondering why Arnold was still dating Lila. They all agreed that Arnold was miserable and didn't really love Lila. Most of all, his now former friends were still saddened and frustrated that they couldn't make plans to hangout with him unless Lila went with him.

It now became all about Lila from their point of view.

Arnold sighed and noticed the glances he would get. It truly was miserable for him. Not only could he just go up to friends and tell them the situation but he knew he would risk not having Helga back. He hadn't texted Helga in few weeks and wondered how she was doing and if she found out about him and Lila dating.

 _Of course she does, Phoebe probably told her but because I can't say anything, Helga's going to get the wrong idea_

Was one of many thoughts that had ran through Arnold's mind everyday. The only thing that kept him going was the words written in Helga's locket and how much it meant to him. Lila didn't know that he had Helga's locket secretly tucked away in a secret place and he would often open it and read the words when he was in his room alone but had to make sure no one was spying on him.

Every night, Arnold would read the written words and wondered if the words written still held the amount of love as Helga wrote them as they did now. Arnold decided that it was now time to end this so called relationship. He didn't care if Lila would call Big Bob, he would do it and with the help of his friends. He didn't care if he was black mailed or not he was going to get Helga back no matter what Lila did.

As they got to school Arnold pulled Lila aside from everybody else and told her that the 'relationship' was over. He then told her that he didn't care what she did because the truth would come out and everybody would know what she did. Lila, although a little bit worried wasn't too concerned about this and walked away without saying a word. As the day went on, Arnold began talking to his friends more and his plan to get Helga to come back. Phoebe was going to tell him that Helga would be back but wanted it to be kept a secret because she wanted to tell Helga.

They all wished Arnold the best of luck as Arnold got home from school, he told his family what he was about to do. Although worried, Phil and Pookie understood and gave him some extra cash to go to where Helga was temporary living at. That night, he packed a bag and filled it with clothes and other things but most importantly, he placed the locket in the bag to take it back to Helga. He hoped that Helga still loved him but also hoped she didn't fall in love with anybody else and gave up on her love for him. He went to the bus stop to where Helga was living and sat down on a nearby seat. His heart was pounding and his head was filled with thoughts.

He was excited but also nervous. He hadn't spoken to Helga so he wasn't sure how he was going to explain everything but he was also nervous because he hadn't seen or heard from Lila who when in the 'relationship' had always texted or called him; even making it a point to follow him to see where he was at.

It had taken what seemed like days to get there. When he finally did arrive, he grabbed his stuff and headed down the steps off the bus. Looking around, he saw that where Helga was living it was nice and it sort of reminded him of back home except it seemed like everything looked brand new, even the roads. He looked around and asked the bus driver if he knew where any motels were at and the bus driver gave him directions to the nearest one.

Arnold thanked him and as he was walking, he saw other teenagers about his age walk into what looked like an arcade. He didn't think anything of it until he heard someone call out a familiar name. He listened again to make sure it was the name he heard few minutes ago. The unknown person called out the name again and Arnold looked to see that the person the guy was calling, was Helga.

Helga came up from behind in an almost pacing manner along with 2 other people. He heard what sound like "hang on" coming out of Helga's mouth along with a reply with others that were with her. Arnold was shocked to even see Helga this happy. He thought she would be in her room most of the time and if she did go out, just not making friends with anyone. He continued to watch as Helga and her new group of friends went inside the movie theater.

He walked to a nearest hotel and rented a room. After he reached his room and unpack, he decided to take a look around the town hoping that he'd eventually run into Helga and hopefully she'd be alone. He took the locket from his suit case and placed it in his pocket. There was a lot of things he wanted to tell Helga personally and clear up any misunderstandings that she had possibly heard from Phoebe who got it from around school. He didn't blame either of them since it was his own fault for not telling the truth about the situation to his friends sooner and had let it continue for what seemed like months. He himself didn't really know how long he was 'dating' Lila but all he knew was that he was glad it was over.

As he was walking around town, he ended up walking into a neighborhood just few miles from everything that he guessed was the 'city' part. When he continued to walk, he was stopped by an elderly woman who was in her front yard. When he stopped, she had asked him if he could dig up a weed that refused to come out of the ground. The woman wiped her forehead with a cloth and offered one to Arnold who accepted and breathed heavily.

He never expected to be helping someone this much but that's that he always did. Few short minutes later, the woman offered him a drink and to come inside to get out of the heat. At first, Arnold didn't want to but then decided to go in as the heat was starting to get more unbearable with every minute.

He went inside and saw that the back door lead into the kitchen. The kitchen was not too small but he could tell that it wasn't big enough to have a lot of people in it. Arnold was offered a seat and he sat down feeling the coolness of the chair cool off his back. As he rested, he was handed a glass of iced tea. He thanked her and drank it as the cold liquid refreshed his dry throat.

He noticed some pictures hanging here and there and the elderly woman told him that those were pictures of her grand daughter. He continued to look and she told him when the pictures were taken and how she loved the pictures. They continued talking until they heard some talking and footsteps just right outside. When the door opened, Arnold was surprised to see who had opened the door.

It was Helga.


	11. Chapter 11

It seemed like time was standing still. Nothing moved or even made a sound. Arnold and Helga looked at each other shocked as Helga herself thought she was dreaming when she saw Arnold standing in front of her. It wasn't until a few short minutes after did Arnold speak causing Helga to lose her thoughts. Helga regained focus and approached Arnold. He thought that she was coming to give him a hug since she hadn't seen him in awhile but instead all he got was a slap in his face then watched Helga leave.

Her grandma was in shock and immediately went to see if Arnold was okay but stopped when he told her he was fine. She wanted to know why Helga had slapped him but decided it was best for whatever problem she and Arnold had to be solved by them. Arnold in the mean time followed Helga unsure if it was the right thing to do and talk to her about why she had slapped him.

As he got upstairs and walked towards what looked like Helga's room, he knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. There was silence and he knocked again and a 3rd time before he had heard footsteps coming up to the door and soon heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

"What do you want Football Head?" Helga asked in an angry tone.

"I came here to talk to you, can you please let me in?" Arnold asked,

"You got 5 minutes then you're leaving." Helga replied.

She opened her door all the way and stepped aside so that Arnold could walk through. Her room was decorated with the stuff she had brought with her but still looked an older adult's room. Helga sat on her bed and stared at Arnold.

"I'm waiting." She said to him.

"Look Helga I'm sure you know what I came here to talk to you about but you have to understand I did it for you. I couldn't tell the others and risk everything." Arnold said to her.

"Oh yea, you did it for me alright, going out with Lila and not telling anyone especially me? You really think I'm going to believe you when you didn't even have the guts to tell me yourself?" Helga asked him

"You would if you'd let me tell you." Arnold said.

"Well Football Head, let me tell you something, you're a jerk! You think that us fooling around and then you dating Lila is going to want me to patch things up with you?! What's worse is that you didn't even text or call me about what was happening you just did it without even tell me!" Helga yelled.

"Would you just let me explain?! All you've been doing is blaming me when I haven't told you my side of it." Arnold said back to her in a now aggravated tone.

"Give me one good reason why I should?!" Helga once again yelled.

"Because I love you and I did it for you!" Arnold said in an aggravated yelling tone.

"Well it sure looked like it from you dating Lila!" Helga said.

"Would you just shut up for a minute?! Geez, I came all the way here to tell you why and to give you back your stupid locket!" Arnold shouted.

"Why do you have my locket?!" Helga asked.

Arnold pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He knew talking to Helga would be hard but he never imagined it would be _this_ hard. In some ways, Arnold thought about just not explaining and giving Helga back her locket and leaving while the other thoughts in his head wanted to desperately explain everything to Helga. Arnold sat on Helga's bed without caring if Helga minded or not. He was not only aggravated with Helga but also aggravated with the whole situation.

"Did you read the inscription inside?" Helga asked breaking the silence.

"What do you think?" Arnold asked her still aggravated and thinking.

"Sorry I asked. Look can I just have it back please?" Helga asked him.

"Fine." Arnold replied.

He reached in his pocket and took out the heart shaped locket and tossed it to Helga who in return caught it and put it away somewhere safe. Arnold raised up and got off the bed. Helga noticed and saw that he was walking towards the door. He didn't feel like talking at the moment and didn't want to be around anybody; just wanting to be by himself to relax.

"Where are you going?" Helga asked.

"I'm leaving unless you want to yell at me some more." He replied back to her.

"No." Helga almost silently said.

With nothing else being said and silence filling the room, Arnold had opened the door and left the room; heading downstairs and saying goodbye to her grandma before hearing the door open and shut. Helga sank down to the floor with her back against the dresser. She buried her face into her arms as she brought up her knees to her chest. She took out the locket and opened it; reading the words written in it. Helga looked at it once more before closing it and a tear falling onto the picture of Arnold.

Meanwhile, Arnold was walking around and found himself in what seemed to him was a park. He rested his back against the tree along with his bag of clothes. He took out his phone and called a bus station to ask about bus departures to go back home. When he got the information he needed, he hung up and closed his eyes; finally being able to collect his thoughts. He stayed there for few minutes before walking out of the park to a motel room. He would only stay for 2 days since the bus to take him back home wouldn't be back for that amount of time. When he found a motel, he checked in and opened the door to his room with his key. It wasn't a bad room and looked nice with a somewhat of an antique feel to it.

Arnold decided to shower and relax a bit before going to sleep. He wasn't in the mood to really eat anything so he opted on skipping dinner. As he showered, he heard what sounded like a knock at his door. He sighed once more and got out and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt quickly. When he looked to see who it was, he was surprised - although not too surprised to Helga.

He unlocked the door and stood in between the door and the door frame.

"What are you doing here?" Arnold asked in a defeated tone.

"I came here to want to know why you dated Lila. I want to hear the truth." Helga said to him.

"We went through that and ended up having a yelling match." Arnold said to her.

"Please?" Helga replied silently.

"Fine, come in." Arnold said.

He moved out from in between the door frame and door allowing Helga to come in. When Helga went in and sat down on a near by chair, Arnold shut the door behind him before walking over to Helga and sit in a chair in that sat across from her.


	12. Chapter 12

It had been crazy the last few weeks while Arnold was there with Helga. She had not only learned that she was only brought here because Lila had found about her spending the weekend with Arnold but also called up her parents to let them know about it. Arnold told her every detail about it and it had taken nearly 3 hours to explain everything and why he couldn't tell anybody. He had also told her about how he broke off the 'relationship' and came here. Helga took few minutes for it all to sink in. She really didn't know what say to Arnold but to let him continue.

Now they were both on their way back home. Both had decided that Helga would be living with him until the school year was over and Helga's grandma could also come and she could decide if she wanted to continue to live with Arnold or live with her grandma instead. Either way, it was better than going back home to her parents and Olga. Her grandma had already told them the details before they had left and also told them that it wold be no problem moving and packing up everything; saying that she had few friends that would offer to help if she'd ask.

Helga hugged her grandma goodbye and thanked her for treating her like she was important enough for her to care about. In return, her grandma hugged her tight and told her that if she ever needed anything that she knew where she was at. They both smiled and she too hugged Arnold as they said their last goodbyes. Now they had been on a bus for nearly 3 hours and with little to no stops. They did't really know how long it would take but the bus driver had told them that it would take at least few days to get where they wanted to be at provided that they were on schedule.

Helga and Arnold made the most of it and every few hours, the bus would stop and let the passengers off to get something to eat and use the bathroom. Some would take the opportunity to smoke a cigarette before getting back on the bus. Arnold and Helga would usually get something to eat, use the bathroom and get back on the bus and wait. They took the chance to talk about some of there plans along with Helga apologizing to Arnold for missing school to come here. Arnold brushed it off telling her that it was no big deal and that he had come because he wanted to. Helga blushed as Arnold took her hand into his and lightly kissed her on her soft lips.

As half an hour passed, passengers started to get on the bus and head back to where they were sitting until they got to where they needed to be. It was both peaceful but also uncomfortable. They really couldn't sleep in positions to where they wouldn't be sore but it was peaceful that they were finally together again - the warmth of their bodies being together and hearing each other breathing softly soothed the both of them.

Days passed and they had finally reached their city. The bus driver slowed to a stop and Arnold and Helga grabbed their stuff and proceeded to walk off the bus. After they stepped on the sidewalk, they stretched out before walking to Arnold's house just few blocks away. It was about 3:30 p.m. and Arnold knew that his grandma and grandpa would be there - since they usually were. He figured that they weren't too worried about him and he was glad to make sure he called them to tell them that he was okay. Helga's heart started to beat faster as they had finally reached his house.

"You okay?" Arnold asked.

"I'm just nervous is all." She replied.

"Nervous about what?" He asked her.

"About if things start to repeat itself like last time. I also don't know about going to school." She replied softly.

"Don't worry about now, we'll talk about that when we get into my room and talk things over." He assured her.

She nodded and Arnold had turned the door knob until it was starting to gap open. Helga took a deep breath and followed Arnold into the house.

"Grandma, Grandpa I'm home!" Arnold said as his words echoed through the house.

Footsteps suddenly were heard as out of the corner came two familiar voices.

"Well if it isn't Shortman home from being away." Phil said.

"Arnold! You're back from the war!" Pookie said.

"I didn't go to war grandma, remember I was going to bring back Helga?" Arnold asked but couldn't help but laugh.

"I guess I'll have to tell the Colonel that I'll be heading to battle!" She replied as she held the broom in the room and walked away.

"Don't worry Shortman, yesterday she thought she was a magician and could make things disappear I still can't find my fishing gear." Phil said to him.

After talking things over, Phil, Pookie, Arnold, and Helga agreed that since Helga wasn't expected to return that she wouldn't have to till the next school year and could decide to live with her grandma towards the start of both Arnold and Helga's senior year of high school. For the time being, Helga would be living with them and she said she would contribute in anyway she could around the house.

Although both Phil and Pookie thought it was nice of her to offer, they felt that she had other important things to worry about and told her to focus on what she needed to do. Helga did as she began filling the details of her plans with her grandma via telephone. It was very confusing for Helga but she didn't dare go outside in the afternoon but instead went out at night with Arnold if they did go out.

Helga would sleep with Arnold in his room and would kiss him good morning and goodbye when he would go to school. When he would come back they would spend the day together. Arnold didn't mention Helga being back and living with him but Phoebe eventually found out and swore not to say anything. The days continued on as usual. Eventually, only the friends who Arnold and Helga grew up with found out but were at a lost as to how to keep Lila from finding out.

Arnold had learned that Lila had been asking questions about where he was and why he wouldn't show up at school. No one would give her an answer and ignore her no mater how much she thought she could bribe them.

Lila had first tried to bribe Rhonda. She told Arnold that Lila would offer her expensive clothes and jewelry but Rhonda wouldn't accept and walked away from her with Nadine by her side. Nadine was also bribed but Rhonda had intervened and Lila tried someone else.

This had eventually lead to Arnold hearing about the things each one of his friends were bribed with.

Harold, Stinky, and Sid were offered free passes to the amusement park.

Gerald was bribed with a spot on the basketball team.

Sheena and Eugene were given free spot in a musical

Phoebe was going to be given a spot in a local competition

As for the others, Arnold really didn't want to hear it in order for him not to become frustrated.

School ended and Arnold wanted to get home quickly and out of the school before any of Lila's friends or Lila herself saw him. Arnold started walking in with the crowd of kids heading towards the exit. People were going every which way with some finding their way to their friend's lockers. The sea of kids had finally disbursed when they were finally outside. Most of them were on heading to their bus while others were walking or being picked up by someone. Arnold himself thought about walking but decided to go home on the bus since he thought that it would lessen the chance of Lila or her friend's seeing him.

He got on the bus and sat down. He tried to find a seat that didn't make him to noticeable enough for anyone to recognize him but also to where he could easily get off if need be.

15 minutes later and Arnold had almost made it home without incident. All that was left was to turn the corner to the bus stop and he was safe. Arnold had breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a bit; letting the tension ease.

When the bus did turn the corner of his street, he saw what had to be the most shocking thing he'd ever seen.

There in front of his house was a police car with two officers that were just few feet away from the front door. As he got off and approached his house, he could see Phil and Pookie talking to them and Helga who was in a combative mode to argue with them. Arnold was seen by Phil and called him in to explain what had happen and what Lila had told him.

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 **Sorry for the late chapter! I've been busy the last week! Last Chapter coming soon!**


	13. Chapter 13

**ACTUALLY READ THE BOTTOM BEFORE YOU POST A REVIEW! NOT THAT HARD TO DO PEOPLE! AND I CANNOT ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IF YOU'RE A GUEST!**

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As Arnold approached the entry way to his house, the police officers were standing there waiting. Arnold's throat began to get dry and his whole body felt shaky everywhere. As he stood in front of Phil and Pookie, it was even more daunting just to look at the 2 officers standing before him. It was only a little bit relieving when Phil offered them a seat in the living room and luckily for all of them, they obliged. The two officers sat down and began to ask Arnold some questions about Helga and her home life. Helga, in the mean time was taken to the police station by another officer who arrived to pick her up and get her side of the story. Arnold's throat was even drier by this point and drank some water on the table that was placed there by Phil who had given it to him and to make him try to relax.

Arnold began to recount the previous weeks that had all lead up to this point. The officers began writing everything down on their notepads as Arnold continued to explain. When one of the officers asked why he decided to go see and visit Helga alone, Arnold said he wanted to explain everything that had happened in person and not over the phone or through text. The other officer peered at him as he tipped his sunglasses down to see if Arnold was lying or not - by the body movements he came to the decision that he was not.

It took nearly 3 and half hours to explain every little detail because Arnold didn't want to leave anything out. He wanted to tell them everything that was said and done and even told the officers about his and Helga's intimate moment - which kind of shocked Phil and Pookie as well as the officers who wondered if Arnold only went to see Helga for another sexual encounter. Arnold knew what they were thinking right at that moment and he could tell it wasn't good.

He tried to explain that it was a one time thing and they didn't have any other sexual encounters since that night but the officer put his hand up which told Arnold not to say more. The other male officer wrote few more things down before nodding his head to the other. They both told them that would be back but not to leave the city. They showed themselves out the door and Arnold, Phil, and Pookie watched them leave and head down the street.

The knot in Arnold's stomach took awhile to go away and soon he met both Phil and Pookie in the living room. Arnold wanted to ask why the police came but he was afraid of his answer. It wasn't until Phil started talking that the once quiet room heard the sounds of his words. He began telling Arnold that Helga was helping around the boarding house before relaxing watching TV with him and Ernie. After few hours, they had heard a knock at the door. Phil said he thought it was a door to door salesman and was prepared to tell them they weren't interested when he saw 2 officers standing there.

They had asked where Helga G. Pataki was at and assumed they had kidnapped her. It took awhile for them to explain that it wasn't true and he stopped knowing that Arnold was apart of the rest of what happened. The other boarders had eventually moved out so there was really no other witnesses to help alibi their story - except for Ernie, Suzie, and Hyunh who weren't present at the time.

It seemed like hours waiting in an interview room to Helga who was sitting on a hard chair that wasn't the best and would rather sit on the floor if given the opportunity to do so. After another 15 minutes, a detective came in and sat across the table from her. The detective settled down before asking her questions about her relationship to her 'parents' Big Bob and Miriam as well as her relationship to her sister, Olga.

Helga started to talk about how her relationship was with them. She started to talk about the times when they neglected to pick her up and feed her; having to scrounge around for food herself; what little she could and about the times they abused her emotionally and Big Bob never calling her by her name instead he called her 'Girl'. She continued to tell about how she'd either have to walk to school or take the bus to school from the time she was in preschool till now.

The detective was shocked at how Helga was treated and wondered how she'd even manage to survive living with parents like that. He then asked about her sister and to that Helga simply replied that Big Bob and Miriam preferred Olga to her because Olga was simply in their eyes 'perfect'. Helga even started to talk about Big Bob getting drunk and Miriam as well going to make 'smoothies'. Helga said she knew that her mom was an alcoholic since she was old enough to understand.

Hours had passed and Helga was allowed to leave but not leave the state in case they wanted more information. When Helga left, the detective watched her and a slight tear had slowly ran down his cheek.

Helga soon arrived home to Arnold's house. She opened the door and the mob of animals came running out. She announced she was home and Phil, Pookie, and mostly Arnold ran to meet her. He hugged her tightly and Phil had asked what had happened while she was at the police station. She started to explain everything and said that they wanted to know her home life with her parents.

They all listened and were relieved when Helga had come home. The next thing for them was to possibly be in contact with Big Bob and Miriam who Phil had learned from listening in on a conversation that Big Bob was planning on suing them and the police department. Big Bob was also planning on trying to get custody of Helga again but was unsure if that part was entirely true because Big Bob was just talking to one of his friends about it and didn't sound too serious about that part. They all decided to just relax and see where it leads to. Since Helga stated that her grandma was coming to live in Hillwood City she would also be getting involved and also be the the one that would possibly fight Big Bob over custody of Helga until she turned 18.

Few weeks had passed and the police kept all of them informed. It had also been noted that a month from was the official first time Helga would see Big Bob and Miriam as the attorneys for both parties would need to be present to go over details about the upcoming case to see if it would go to a hearing.

Soon that day would arrive and Helga, along with Arnold went with Phil and Pookie to discuss everything. They arrived in about 15 minutes and noticed the all too familiar black hummer that was already there, parked just a row in front of them. Going inside, they had already noticed that they were to be expected. A man had approached them and went over the details of the case and what was to be expected from Big Bob's lawyer - which was to prove that Big Bob and Miriam tried to everything they could to keep Helga safe and have given her everything she wanted but she in return wanted to rebel against them.

When Arnold asked about Miriam's alcoholism and Big Bob's neglectfulness, he replied that Big Bob and Miriam never neglected Helga and that she was never an alcoholic. They finally stopped at a door as they continued to talk and he along with another lawyer, had explained their case with sufficent evidence to prove not only that what Big Bob's lawyer claims are false but that the evidence they had were also false.

Going over the details had taken up to 2 and a half hours at the most before finally having their case called.

They entered the courtroom with each sitting next to the attorney on the right side. Big Bob and Miriam along with Olga, came walking in with their lawyer; briefcase in hand as he smirked at the latter across from him. Big Bob and Miriam looked semi fairly decent as Helga hadn't seen Miriam not in an sleepy alcoholic state in a long time. She even manage to not have a long drone to her talking. Big Bob was just in his business suit, talking to his lawyer while Olga was sitting there all perfect. It had annoyed Helga to an extent. She wanted to go out and have a smoke but the hearing was about to begin; with Big Bob taking a quick glance at Helga.

First to go on the stand was Arnold. He got up from his seat and walked over to the stand; raising his hand to swear to tell the truth before being questioned by both attorneys. Arnold knew he couldn't let Big Bob win as he gave a glare at him. The attorney then asked him a question about what he had seen, Arnold started to speak.

Big Bob's lawyer started out asking Arnold simple questions such as how long he knew Helga and for how long. He also asked why he didn't call Helga's parents when Helga wanted to stay with him for the weekend. Arnold answered the questions but he noticed that the lawyer wasn't giving him a chance to barely answer any of the questions. He would be interrupted until his own lawyer would ask questions and let Arnold clarify his decisions.

So far, the case seemed to be going smoothly and looked like it was going to be going the right way - that was until Big Bob's lawyer brought up their brief moment of sexual intimacy on while Helga was there. Arnold told him that it was consensual and that Helga was okay with it; asking her few times if she was sure in which she answered with a 'yes' or a 'nod'.

When Arnold said that, it opened up other questions of him following Helga to her grandma's house and wanting another sexual encounter. Arnold stated that he had only gone there to explain things what was happening at school and home in person since he had only been communicating with Helga by cellphone. The lawyer - at least to Arnold didn't seem impressed by his answers and Arnold was asked few more questions before calling up another witness - Lila Sawyer.

Both Helga and Arnold were shocked that Lila would be testifying to see if she what she would say would be credible. Lila entered the courtroom with almost a smile on her face as she approached the stand. She sat down and proceeded to answer questions.

"Ms. Sawyer, what is your relationship with Arnold and Helga?" Big Bob's lawyer asked.

"Arnold was my ever so wonderful boyfriend but he broke up with me to be with Helga." She answered.

"What was your relationship with him like?" He asked.

"I thought it was ever so wonderful but he'd always compare me to Helga and would always want to talk about her or to her. It really broke my heart." She replied.

"Did Arnold ever say anything to you about wanting to go see Helga?" He asked her.

"No, I ever so believe he did not. I only learned he went to see Helga after my closest friends told me. I was devastated." Lila answered.

"Thank you Ms. Sawyer, No further questions your honor." He said as he walked back to his table.

Next, the lawyer for the prosecution stood up and walked over to the stand.

"Ms. Sawyer, do you like Helga Pataki? He asked her.

"I used to consider her to be one of my ever so nice friends." She said to him.

"Would it be fair to say that you knew Arnold and Helga both liked and even loved each other?" He asked her.

"I didn't think so but I guess I was ever so wrong since I got heart broken." She answered back to him.

The day continued as both Miriam and Big Bob were called up to the stand followed by Olga. The last 2 that were to testify was Phil and Pookie.

Big Bob testified out of he and Miriam. It was all a complete lie which Helga, Arnold, and both Arnold's grandparents knew it was.

Big Bob testified that he had only sent Helga away to keep her away from Arnold to keep her safe because he thought Arnold would use her in a way that would hurt her. He went on to say that he was just looking out for her and thought the best way was to send her to live with her grandma just few states away. Miriam was then called to the stand and she told the same story. It wasn't until her alcoholism and Big Bob's abusiveness was called to attention when the case made a turn. Miriam stated that she did drink smoothies to get her through the day to help her get through with Big Bob's dominance that he often showed. It was then the attention turned to their marriage - which caused Big Bob to lash out in court; yelling that their marriage had nothing to do with it.

The judge, who had been listening in silence ordered his lawyer to calm Big Bob down and to not do it again.

Hours passed as Pookie and Phil testified and told each lawyer what had happened in those weeks. It was consistent to each other's and both did not hesitate with any answer that was thrown at them. Phil had said that Arnold told him about the problems with Big Bob and how Big Bob pulled up next to him and told him not to go around Helga. Even though it had made him mad, Arnold had still gone around Helga at school.

However, this was the perfect moment for the defense; painting Arnold in a light in which he didn't care what Big Bob or Miriam had to say and ignored them as he had gone around Helga. They painted him as someone who didn't care as long as he was able to be in a relationship with Helga and have sex with her. This, to Arnold was not true to an extent and at that moment, regretted even saying anything to Big Bob if he'd known it would be used against him.

Almost 3 weeks had passed with different people testifying - some for the prosecution and some for the defense. One of the most surprising witnesses was Helga's grandma and the mother of Big Bob. She testified about the telephone conversations they had and how Big Bob wanted Helga to live with her because Miriam and him no longer wanted to take care of her. She stated that throughout the many conversations, that Big Bob would ask her if Helga was wanting to come back and just to keep her there. She said that Helga was her 'problem' now since they didn't want to put up with her.

Helga's grandma said that while Helga was living with her, that never once did either he or Miriam asked about Helga; simply not Olga had called, she too was the same but still talked as if she was still concerned. She went on to tell how Helga was during her stay and the day she had met Arnold; who wasn't anything like Big Bob had said he was. Telling them also that not only did Arnold show great concern for Helga but also wanted to make amends.

Arnold and Helga's argument was brought up but was quickly dismissed as just an argument about the misunderstanding and what Helga had learned from her best friend Phoebe who had testified about it the previous days. Another week had passed before finally the jury, made up of 6 men and 4 women had finally heard enough of the evidence to deliberate.

What seemed like months for the jury to go over everything actually only took 2 hours.

The jury, had finally come out of the room and the verdict was handed over to the judge. Big Bob and Miriam stood up along with their lawyer as the verdict was read aloud, guilty. They were found guilty on charges of neglect, endangering the welfare of a minor, and guilty of failing to report signs of abuse on the part of Miriam.

Both were shocked and even the lawyer as Olga started to cry and hug Big Bob and Miriam as they were lead away to be to be booked. They were sentenced to 30 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Miriam started to lose it as she began to argue with Big Bob and he soon started to berate her. The case wasn't over as there was the matter of where Helga would be living at until she turned 18. Her grandma, spoke and said that Helga could live with her and she could decide on her own when and where she wanted to move. It was ordered that it would happen and Both her grandma, Phil and Pookie - along with Arnold, were happy with the outcome. It was also stated that Helga would go back to school starting next week.

When asked about Lila, the lawyer stated that Lila would stand trial as she was found to be a co conspirator and would be a separate case. He also said that Arnold and Helga would be testifying for the prosecution. Months had passed and Helga had finally began o feel happy again. While she was living with her grandma, she would often go and spend the night with Arnold; switching houses every weekend and some week days. As for Big Bob and Miriam, they had tried several times to have an appeal but they were so far had been denied and even tried once to try and get parole but that too didn't work. They were going to have to spend time in prison for the rest of their lives until they die. The only person that would come visit them was Olga, who tried and pleaded to over turn their sentence to no avail and his lawyer who also tried to get new appeals but they ultimately ran out of appeals.

Years had passed and Arnold and Helga had gotten married to each other in a fairly large wedding. They ended up having 2 kids each just a year apart. While Olga did not show up at the wedding, she did send her wishes for Helga to have a happy life and Helga hadn't seen or heard from her since.

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 **Any reviews that aren't actual reviews will be removed :)**

 **Oh and thanks to the people that insulted me :D I guess your little frail feelings got hurt too much :P**

 **No, I'm not gonna apologize for what I said, when you don't read the notes and put insulting reviews, of course I'm going to get irritated.**


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